This movie will be etched in my memory forever. It was very well cast and the storyline was amazing. I love the tie ins to the LeStrange family and the mention of preheadmaster days Dumbledore. The magic was phenomenal and Newt was a character you could fall in love with....and his creatures.....wow!

5 of 5 helpful votes

KC

Kati C

#magical

Definitely a must see especially if you enjoyed any of the HP movies!

3 of 3 helpful votes

CJ

Charity J

Metacritic

We can all use more magic in our lives, and that promise is fulfilled quite delightfully at first. But extravagant creatures of digital descent can’t sustain a story that does little more than set the scene for a long string of sequels.

Yates and Rowling skillfully weave their bleak – and very blunt-edged – message into the fabric of the story. It might be wildly out of place in a fantasy aimed at tweens, but it’s a welcome change from the usual vapid blockbuster.

Invention and effects are the name of the game here, predictably, and this world invites us in as effectively as the best of the Potter episodes.... Somewhat less effective is the film's character-bonding agenda.

Videos & Photos

Movie Info & Cast

Director: David Yates

Producer: Neil Blair, David Heyman, Steve Kloves

Writer: J.K. Rowling

Release Date: Nov 18, 2016

Runtime: 2hr 13m

Synopsis

The Potterverse takes Manhattan in this exciting prequel to J.K. Rowling’s wizarding saga. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an adaptation of Harry’s textbook of the same name. Wait, no… that’s not it. Actually, the film details the adventures of that textbook’s author, magizoologist Newt Scamander, in New York City in 1926.

Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) stops in the city that never sleeps while on a journey to study magical creatures for his book. But his detour takes a turn when he loses his magically charmed luggage – and a few of those fantastic beasts he was keeping inside. With the state of magical and non-magical relations in the United States at risk of being upended, Newt joins forces with a No-Maj (American for “Muggle”) named Jacob (Dan Fogler) and a witch named Tina (Katherine Waterston) to recover the creatures before they draw too much attention. Unfortunately there are more threats loose in New York City than a few lost creatures…

The film also stars Samantha Morton, Ezra Miller, and Colin Farrell, and is directed by David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). J.K. Rowling herself wrote the script for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, marking her screen writing debut.

Cast

Eddie Redmayne

Sam Redford

Scott Goldman

Tim Bentinck

Tristan Tait

Colin Farrell

Tom Clarke Hill

Matthew Sim

Katherine Waterston

Samantha Morton

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview with Vulture, Alfonso Cuarón, director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) expressed interest in directing this film: "'Azkaban' was fun to make, and when I did it, I was invited to do the next one, but I didn't want to overstay the welcome, because it was such an experience. But now? Why not? I do have stuff that I want to do (next), but a J.K. Rowling thing... They haven't called me yet! They haven't decided to invite me! Looking forward! At least to see it, because nobody's invited me".